FiiO M17 Audiophile Music Player

I have been using the FiiO M17 for a couple of months now with a pair of Denon AH-D9200 (and occasionally the AH-D7200 and Sennheiser HD650) and I have to say I have been impressed from day one by the audio capabilities of the M17. I must stress that I don’t use any of the features, the Bluetooth and WiFi have never been turned on, I don’t use streaming services, I don’t watch videos, I haven’t downloaded any apps and so on. I have two 1TB micro sd cards filled with music varying from CD quality up to DSD256, with the variety ranging from death metal to chamber music to dub reggae to all kinds of folk and world music and beyond. The M17 is just so in control of the music, it produces an extremely low noise floor, stunning micro and macro dynamics, completely natural timbre, harmonic complexity, stunning decay of notes, wonderful spatial characteristics and a lot more besides. I recently added the iFi Power Elite which has taken everything up a few more levels, the realism, dynamism and the music’s power to shock and surprise is particularly impressive now. My only complaint is for some strange reason the M17 isn’t the best at proper alphabetising but this is a minor quibble for such a supremely capable music player. Highest recommendation.

Worked fine until after a week of no use, I tried to turn the unit on and nothing, dead. Tried charging and still nothing. After less than 6 months ownership this is very bad.

I had previously M15 in my stable, as I own planars had to go with something with even more power to properly drive them. Cant express how happy I feel, this DAP has even bigger stage, more natural sound, highs and lows extend way more, its a detail monster with so much more power under hood. Price considering what it offers is a bargain, this one is putting Astell Kern and Ibasso in difficult position, as they have nothing to put against this one especially at this price. Even with higher price they have nothing on a table like this as it offers deskop like quality in transportable device. Go for it, its an end game DAP🎧

Sound is a bit heavy handed and thick but ok for the price point. The real issue is useability, or actually a real lack thereof. There are supposedly three or four ways to listen to music on this device, three involve loading the files using a wired connection, and the fourth is wireless. I loaded a number of files onto a music folder, similar to a pc, but am now stuck in the FiiO app which does not show all of the files transferred, and much worse transfers them in a very random order, which can't be easily changed. That might be alright for pop songs etc, but for orchestral music it's a nightmare. The documention is primitive, so no help at all. I am just amazed how it is possible to design a product that is so unusable. Turn on - plug in headphones - load music - listen. What could go wrong? They sure found a way. What a waste of time and money. It's ok to have lots of features, but the basic functions need to be easy to use. Also, what are the big lights on the sides for? Aside from draining the battery. What a mess this product is.

Ummm... This is curious proposition by FiiO. They're attempting to 'shoe-horn' a desktop-spec DAC/Headphone amplifier into a portable device. Why bother? Well, I'll come onto that. As background, at home I use Roon for streaming music. It's superb. For headphone listening via Roon at home I use my trusted Chord Poly/Mojo combo, which sounds superb. But I've never really 'got on' with this combo for headphone listening on-the-move. It's UI is clunky, and although you can use a microSD card in Poly, streaming this using a third-party streaming app on my iPhone is slightly bothersome. Therefore when I'm out-and-about I use my DAP, a Sony NW-WM1Z. This sounds sublime, and it has the added benefit of being able to use my Sennheiser HD800's and Beyerdynamic T1.2's in balanced mode with it. Luckily, I have the High-Gain version imported from Hong Kong, which can drive these monsters quite capably. But I can't use these headphones in balanced mode with the Chord combo at home, as the Mojo is a single-ended DAC/Amplifier. And I hate changing cables! Enter the FiiO! My interest piqued in the M17 when it became 'Roon Ready'. Could this DAP replace BOTH my Chord Poly/Mojo combo at home AND my Sony DAP when I'm on-the-move? Well, I took the plunge... First impressions? Good. It comes sturdily packed in two boxes, one containing the M17/Accessories and the other containing a stand/cooling fan. But BOY, it's BIG! I thought the Sony DAP was big and heavy, but the FiiO trumps that. It's heavier and larger. The screen is large and clear, and the Android OS is snappy and responsive. After downloading the latest firmware update, it was detected by Roon on my home network instantly and the 'Roon Ready' feature works perfectly. So far, so good. Right. Time to listen. There is PLENTY of power from the M17. Probably not quite as much as from the Mojo, but it's more than adequate to drive my balanced cans to unhealthy levels. And that's just on battery power. There is apparently an 'Enhanced' Over-ear Headphone mode that needs a 12V DC power supply to access, which is supplied. The only drawback is that you need to use the supplied stand/cooling fan to access this mode as it generates so much internal heat. But after listening on battery only, I can't see a need for this mode, unless you have extremely difficult-to-drive cans. It copes with my 600ohm T1.2's perfectly on battery power. And it sounds DAMN GOOD! It's silent on full-gain/high volume, although I haven't tested it with sensitive IEM's. The sound is authoritative, impactful and SO musical. I was a bit worried about how it would pair with my (bright) HD800's, but they really sing with the M17. Is it as good as the Chord combo? Well, all I can say is it's damn close, but to my ears the M17 sounds slightly superior and it also gives me the opportunity to use my headphones in balanced mode, so a point to the FiiO. Compared to my Sony DAP, even on 'High Gain' mode via the Pentaconn 4.4mm balanced output, the FiiO just has so much more power. It drives my headphones with more authority and control. Being picky, the Sony sounds more refined and smoother. But at twice the price of the FiiO it should! The other thing to highlight is the difference in battery life. The Sony can provide around thirty-hours of listening on a full-charge, whereas the FiiO is limited to around ten-hours. This might be a deal-breaker for some. The Sony also used it's own OS, rather than Android, which is better in use than FiiO's own proprietary music app on Android OS. There's also a world apart in fit and finish. The Sony is a piece of peerless, meticulous engineering at its best. Although it's UI is far from perfect IMO, in use it just oozes quality and using the buttons etc brings you a little bit of joy. In comparison, the Chinese FiiO 'feels' a little cheap. The design and the tactile feel of the M17 just can't compete with the Sony, which extends to the slightly loose/cheap leather case that is supplied with it. BUT to be fair it is HALF THE PRICE of the Sony. There are also a couple of 'bugs' in the FiiO's OS. For instance, I disconnected the USB-C charger and it still 'thought' it was on charge for a while. Nothing major. Just a slight feeling that the firmware is 'work in progress' rather than complete. I expect further firmware updates will fix these bugs. So could the FiiO replace my Sony DAP too? Although heavier and larger than the Sony, it's still portable. JUST. And notwithstanding my personal dislike of FiiO's own music app, yes I think it could. In fact I think it WILL! Just one thing to bear in mind - the Sony comes with 256GB of storage on-board. The FiiO has only has 64GB, of which only around 45GB is available to the user. So you NEED an additional microSD card with the FiiO. So far, so good then! I think I've found the perfect combination of form and function in the FiiO M17. Anyone want to buy a Chord Poly/Mojo and a Sony NW-WM1Z?

Excellent sound quality, plenty of power works well with my Sony Z1R'S, Sony M7's and Fiio FD7's. Using this more than my ibasso dx 300 max. Only bad thing I've found is the cooling fan ( only needed in DC ultimate mode) is way too noisy, but easily sorted by changing the fan for a brushless one , better air flow and practically silent ! So good I've bought another one to leave at work, you can afford to do this when your kids have grown up and no longer sponge off the bank of dad !! Happy days !!

An amazing piece of kit!!

Ottimo prodotto. Caro ma li vale

Un produit unique incomparable même avec les concurrents de renoms respectables que je ne citerais pas par respect de leurs compétences techniques. Musicien, et amateur endurci de Blue, classique, jazz , pop, rock etc. De Vivaldi en passant par JJ C ale, Erik Truffaz, Eric Clapton, Claude Nougaro, Klaus Shultz, Pink Floyd, orchestre Lamoureux, bref un spectre très large sans oublier les musique du monde, j'adore ce produit incomparable qui me permet de redécouvrir de nombreux détails musicaux avec précisons. Je recommande fabuleux mais couteux oui, mais l'émotion la sensation à un prix.

This is a very expensive product but you will have no support in Europe if something breaks. Of course the defective battery got bloated and swollen, high risk of fire. The vendor managed to contact support in China and they sent the wrong, incompatible battery. Finding the original one is apparently impossible, and after removing the defective battery I realized that with DC only power the device won't turn on. This is not acceptable.

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